It is known for protective or guard mesh or netting to be used to safeguard mountain slopes against falls such as for example mudflows, to safeguard rock faces, in particular crumbly rock faces, from rock falls, and also to use them for avalanche protection structures. Typically the protective netting comprises cables in crossed-over relationship which are joined together at their respective intersections by connecting elements. The cables may be plastic cables, for example of nylon, or steel cables. The cables are formed into square or lozenge-shaped meshes to provide nets, by a manual operation. The cables are joined together at their respective intersections by connecting elements which may be for example in the form of small metal plates which are also pressed on to the cables by hand. A netting configuration of that kind is shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawing, showing a small plate member as a connecting element 5 at the intersections 4 between each two cables 2 and 3. The illustrated netting may also involve small metal plate members which are pressed into position on both sides. The metal plate members comprise galvanised metal plate and the size of the meshes of the netting is generally from 200 to 300 mm. The cable diameter are between 5 and 10 mm. The netting can be made up from sub-portions which are surrounded by an edging cable which is from 10 to 22 mm in thickness. Those sub-portions may be from 3 to 10 meters in length and from 2 to 8 meters in height. The protective nettings are fitted by hand on a frame and the connection at the intersections between the cables is also effected manually by means of the metal plate members which are pressed together, as already referred to above. It will be seen therefore that the production of such a netting is a long and tedious manual procedure.